Shade
by DoctorWhoXX
Summary: Red Hood and Shade. They've been partners for years. Gone through hell (almost literally) and come back stronger. They thought they could handle anything, but after a routine weapons bust goes bad, they'll realize just how big the world really is.


**A/N: Hello to all my readers. I know you were most likely looking forward to the next chapter of Cardmaster, but I just have too many ideas in my head right now, so I decided to take a break from Young Justice, and go over to Red Hood and the Outlaws. It's a great comic that I suggest you check out. Also, unlike my last story, there's not going to be any mystery about Ashton's identity after the first chapter.**

 **Now, on with the show.**

"Talking" 'Thinking' " **Non-English Talking** " ' **Non-English Thinking** '

 **Take Me Down to Paradise City (Where the Sea Runs Red & the Girls Are Pretty) Part 1**

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 **Miles off the coast of Miami**

"You good to go, Todd?" I asked my partner. He put on his signature red helmet as I sat down on the boat we had bought. I was wearing all-black body armor lined with carbon fiber plating, a black bulletproof coat, and a white comedy mask, which hid the mouth guard I had that was connected to my armor. I had dark blonde hair that reaches my neck, with amber eyes, and tan skin.

"You got it. You?" He asked. I smirked.

"Please. I've been waiting on you for five minutes. I doubt you're this slow when a girl's involved." I teased. He scoffed.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He fired back.

"About you, no. About the girl, yes." I responded. Before he could reply, our radar machine beeped, telling us our target was getting close. I turned to him, now serious. "Same plan as usual?" I asked. He nodded.

"You get in through the air filtration system, open one of the air locks so I can get in, then we gift wrap these guys for the Devil." He said. As I took off my coat and mask, handing them to Jason, I smirked.

"And once again I do all the work, while you just shoot the guys." I said. Before Jason could retort, I dived down. Once I hit the water, I saw the enormous Russian sub that held the nuclear weapons we were going to take out. As I neared the sub, I saw a grapple hook anchor itself to it, which would pull the boat along. Immediately after, I turned into black smoke, and spread myself over the ship, looking for a way in. In this form, I had to feel, more than see, my environment, and when I finally found a miniscule crack, I converged on that location. As I got into the depths of the sub, I stayed on the roof, not knowing if I would find a guard wandering the halls. I eventually did, and, when I saw him next to a map of the submarine, dropped on him immediately after solidifying. I formed a knife out of darkness, and stabbed him in the neck. I went to the communicator in my ear, and contacted Red. "I've found a map. Give me a moment, and I'll find an airlock."

"About time. Now who's slow?" He said. I rolled my eyes.

"You try navigating a ship this size, while still keeping out of sight of who knows how many guards. It's going to take a little while." I said, still looking through the map. "Ok, found one. It's on the starboard side of the ship, 20 meters down. I'll meet you there." I said.

"Got it. Try not to be too slow this time, ok Ash?" He said.

"Screw you Hood." I replied. When I turned off the communicator, I muttered to myself. "He nearly drowns once, and never lets me live it down." I turned to smoke again, and, more quickly this time, as I knew where to go, I got the other end of the ship, where I told Red to be. "I'm in position. You there?"

"Yep. Now let's be quick about this. When we open the airlock, everyone's going to notice." He said. I nodded, and pressed the button to open the outer door. "I'm in." As soon as he said that, I closed the airlock again, and opened the inner door. Once I did, the alarms went off.

"Well, they know we're here now." I said. Red gave me a suitcase, and when I opened it, it had the rest of my gear, such as my coat, mask, guns, and shuriken. As I quickly put them on, I heard a lot of thumping footsteps, and shouting in Russian. I turned to Jason. "You ready?"

"You know it." He replied. And with that, we raised some hell. I admittedly enjoyed watching the shocked and terrified faces of the arms dealers as they saw their comrades gunned down by two, in their eyes, teenagers. As we pressed our advantage, Todd got in front of me, only to get punched in the head by a practical giant with a metal jaw. The force of the punch sent him flying back into me, and actually broke the left side of his mask. I turned to him.

"You ok?" I asked.

"Yeah, just need the license plate of the car that hit me." He said.

"Ask him yourself." I said. Jason stood up, and we both got in a combat stance.

"This is who was able to shoot down dozens of my men? Two 'deti'?" Said the big guy. Then he paused when he got a good look at Todd. "Wait, I recognize you. You're the Red Hood!" He looked at me. "Which means you must be Shade." I wasn't sure, but I thought he was smirking. "This is excellent. If I return with your heads, my employers will surely give me a bonus." I rolled my eyes.

"You shouldn't underestimate us. We're very good at what we do." I emphasized this turning to smoke and charging at his men, proceeding to take out five more before I had to retreat from a hail of bullets. As I jumped back, Jason began shooting at the leader. Unfortunately, he was faster than we expected, able to dodge all of his shots. I then threw an explosive shuriken at him, which he dodged once again. But then, when the shuriken hit the wall, it blew up, and created a massive hole that let in gallons upon gallons of ocean water. Jason just looked at me, and I could tell he was glaring. "Whoops."

"Well done, dude. Well done." Said Todd. It was at this point, Jason and I began to run, looking for a way out, killing any soldiers that got in our way. "You just had to blow up the submarine, didn't you? You couldn't have done it, AFTER, we got out?"

"Hey, how was I supposed to know that the explosion would be strong enough to sink the ship?" I replied. As we ran, a computerized voice spoke up in Russian.

" **Warning. Water is reaching the engine room. Meltdown imminent. Abandon Ship.** " It said.

"Well that's not good." I said. Suddenly I was punched back by the giant we encountered earlier, the punch practically shattering my mask. I shook my head clear, and got up, Jason beside me.

"I will not allow you to escape. The ship will destroy itself, and take us all with it." He said. As he spoke, I saw a ladder behind him. I looked to Jason, who nodded, and we charged. I went first, and when the big guys metal jaw came clamping down on me, I turned to smoke, opening the way for Jason to land a devastating kick on his face. Using the momentum created from my jump and Jason's kick, I grabbed metal heads neck, and flipped him over my body, slamming him into the ground.

"If he wakes up from that, he's tougher than I thought." I said. Then, we began climbing the ladder, with me in front. The water was rapidly rising, now reaching Jason's knees even as we climbed. Suddenly, I heard a large splash, and Jason grunt. I looked down and saw the Russian holding on to Jason's leg. 'Huh, I guess he is tougher than I thought.'

"Give up, escape is impossible! We will all die here together like men!" He said. Jason just pointed his gun at him.

"There you go again, underestimating us." He said punctuating the period with a gunshot to the head. "Here's a little clue for you—us—killing all your men." I rolled my eyes as he went on one of his post murder lessons. "Should've thought twice about trying to smuggle nuclear weapons into Miami." As we kept running to the top of the ship, he continued. "Why couldn't you have been trying to sneak in drugs like everyone else? At least then you only have to worry about sniffing dogs and not guys like us." I threw another explosive shuriken at the wall, creating a hole big enough for us to get out of. Jason went first, with me following him. As we swam to the surface, I looked back at the sub, and, after seeing the beginning of an explosion, moved to cover Jason in shell of solidified darkness. When the explosion finally hit, it was like getting caught up in a dozen tornadoes taking place inside a tsunami. All I felt was being pushed forward, and then I blacked out. I regained consciousness who knows how long later, but we still in the water. I looked to my left, and saw Jason floating beside me. I reached to grab, and, after seeing an island close to us, I pulled him along as I swam towards it. I was still incredibly injured, but the cold water made me numb to the pain. I finally got to the sandy beach, and dragged myself and Jason on to it. I tried to stand up, but the pain, combined with the energy my healing factor took, made it impossible. I collapsed on to the sand, and before I blacked out once again, I saw someone walking towards us. I couldn't be sure, but their skin seemed, orange.

 **Unknown Time, unknown place.**

I woke up groggy, and all I could do was look forward. I was attached to some kind of device by tubes sticking into my chest. I tried to speak, but it came out slurred, as if I was really drunk

"Wh, where…" I said. I tried to raise my body, but before I could do very much, I felt a hand push me back down.

"Don't. You are still heavily injured, even if you're healing faster than I expected." Said the feminine voice. My vision started clouding, but I was still able to get a brief and unfocused look at my 'nurse'. She had flaming red hair, and orange skin, but before I could determine more, I blacked out once more.

'This is getting annoying.' I thought.

 _Flashback_

 _ **Gotham City, years ago**_

" _Okay Ashton, pay attention." Said my aunt._

" _Yes, ma'am!" I said, doing a mock salute. I was 8 years old, living with my parents in the unofficial hell on Earth known as Gotham. My aunt chuckled at the salute, and then got back to business._

" _When you're trying to steal something, you have to make sure to research the place you're stealing from. As Joe says, 'knowledge is half the battle'." She said. I nodded, looking down at the museum we were overlooking. "Just from looking, what can you tell me about this place?" She asked me. I looked back at her confused. She simply nodded, and, after a brief pause, I looked back at the museum, and focused._

" _There 30 glass panes that could be used to get in, at the risk of attracting attention due to noise, 10 of those are open, 6 don't have metal bars blocking entrance, 3 don't have guards, and 1 lacks any form of protection at all." I said. I turned back to see my aunt smiling._

" _Well done kid, all that in 3 seconds." She said. I practically beamed._

" _Thanks Aunt Selina."_

 _Flashback End_

I groaned as I woke up for the third time. I felt much better this time, able to use my darkness, however the pain was still there, and slightly intense. When I heard footsteps nearing my location, I instantly pretended to be asleep again and formed a dagger in my hand, hidden by the bed. When the footsteps got closer, they spoke up.

"Your friend is in here." Said the voice from before. I was calmed down slightly, and even more when the second voice spoke up.

"I'm amazed he's been out longer than me, he's the one with the healing factor." Said Jason. I was at this point I spoke up.

"You know my healing factor takes a lot of energy to use. That's why it's a last resort." I said, opening my eyes. "And let's not forget, I shielded you from the majority of the blast, so a thank you would be nice." As I moved to sit up, the orange skinned girl walked towards me.

"I would be careful, you've been out for weeks, and your body will not be used to movement." She said. I didn't notice her reach her hand out to push me back down, but it seems Jason did.

"Wait, princess, I wouldn't-" Too late. When the apparent princess put her hand on my chest, there was an explosive reaction as my original power came into effect. I could feel her power flowing into me, along with some of her memories. The unexpected power surge threw us both back, but it disoriented me more than the girl apparently. Not 3 seconds after I was pushed back, she lifted me up and slammed me against the wall.

"What did you do?" She questioned. I just put my hands up.

"Nothing harmful, I swear." I said. "It's an ability of mine. When I touch someone with superhuman abilities, I subconsciously gain their powers and their weaknesses." She continued to stare at me, until she finally let me go.

"You don't seem to be lying, so I'll forgive you. Just this once." She said. Then she gained a thoughtful look. "If it's activated by skin contact, then why didn't it take place when I took you to my home, or when I pushed back into the bed when you first woke up?" She asked.

"I have to be conscious and be sufficiently rested in order for it to work." I said, pushing myself off the ground. I finally got an actual look at her, without passing out soon after. She was a little taller than me, with pure green eyes lacking any pupils or sclera, very, um, curved, and her hair fell down to her waist.

"Ok, can we continue this after Ash gets some actual clothes?" Said Jason. I looked down and finally realized I was buck naked. I raised an eyebrow at the alien princess's complete lack of care, before I was hit in the head by something purple and green. I pulled it off my face, and glared at Jason, who just smirked at me. I noticed that the lump was a set of pants, and started to put them on. I got up and turned to the alien girl.

"My name is Ashton. Thank you for helping us, miss…" I said.

"Princess Koriand'r of the planet Tamaran." She said, picking up on my unasked question. I nodded, doing a small bow.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, your highness." I said. She looked at me confused, so I elaborated. "It's a form of greeting on this planet." I said. She 'hmmd' before walking away. Once she was out of what he assumed was earshot, Jason turned to me.

"Not a great way to start off with a hot girl, huh?" He said. I just glared at him in deadpan.

A few hours later, Jason and I were on a cliff face, him examining the insanely awesome weapons Kory had, while I was working on at least getting the basics of the princess's power down. However, I was distracted over what I experienced in her memories. I was so deep in thought; I didn't notice Jason walking up to me, until he socked me in the side of my head, knocking me down. I got up and turned to him.

"What the hell was that for!?" I all but yelled. He just stared at me.

"You've never been that out of it before." He said. Then he smirked. "What, disappointed that the sight of you naked didn't make her swoon at your feet?" He teased. I rolled my eyes.

"That's not it. It, it was her memories." I said. He looked confused.

"Were they traumatizing or something? I doubt they could have been bad enough to shock you THIS much." He said. I chuckled.

"After what I've been through, I doubt anything could really traumatize me anymore." I said. "No, her memories, they were, shattered, somehow. And I don't know how." Jason instantly sobered up.

"You think someone did that to her?" He asked. I sighed.

"I don't know. All I know is; no one should have that happen to them." I said. And I knew Jason agreed with me. No matter what's happened to us, we've never wanted to truly forget it. I stood up. "I'm going to find her." I said. Jason just nodded and got back to work. After a couple minutes, I found what looked like an area filled with different uniforms. I looked around, until my eyes landed on a set of black and white body armor, which looked around my size. I moved towards it, but before I could grab it, a voice interrupted me.

"You shouldn't snoop around." Said Kory.

"Sorry, I just got curious, and I've always loved new technology." I replied, looking back at the suit. Kory apparently followed my gaze, because she spoke up soon after.

"It's an experimental body armor that my people created." She said. "It synchronizes with the wearer's nervous system, and increases the speed of the signals sent to the brain. Unfortunately, this is the only one, and it was never tested on an actual subject."

'I want one.' I thought. But then I remembered the reason I came out here. "Kory, I wanted to tell you something." I said, turning to face her. I kept my head down. "When I told you about my powers, I left out the fact, that I see a small portion of the person's memories." I looked up at her. "And yours are shattered." She looked shocked at me, before looking angry.

"So you invaded my privacy, and took my powers?" She said. She turned to leave. Before she did, however, she turned her head back at me. "How dare you?" She said. After that, she left me alone in the room. I didn't try to stop her. She was right. Even if it was unintentional, I still invaded her privacy. But for some reason, I couldn't just leave it at that. I had to talk to her, and try to clear the air. I went off to look for her once again, and I eventually found her at the beach, dressed only in her underwear.

"Princess?" I said. She turned to me, but before she could say anything, I did a deep bow. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, but I still invaded your privacy. I shouldn't have looked around in your past." I looked up at her. "So, I think it's only fair that you get to know mine." She looked at me for a moment, before nodding, and sitting down on one of the nearby rocks. I followed her, and sat across from her.

"Alright, where do you wish to start?" She asked. I looked down.

"Well." I started. I don't know why, but at this point, I couldn't stop talking. "My full name is Ashton Quinn." I looked up at her.

"And my father is the Joker."

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 **A/N: Yes, that's where I'm ending this. The next chapter will be almost entirely a flashback, with a little bit of the comic book at the end. Also, there may or may not be a lemon in this story, depending on 2 of 3 things. You guys ask me, I work up the nerve, or I find someone else to write it, and credit them in the chapter it shows up in. Finally, two more things. 1** **st** **, This will be a Starfire/OC story, and 2** **nd** **, I will be focusing on this story for a couple chapters, just to get most of my ideas out of my head.**


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